A Visit to England

Moiz was looking forward to visiting his elder brother in England. It had been more than 6 years since he had seen him. He missed his brother a lot and he was sure Maaz felt the same way. Ever since Moiz could remember, Maaz had been there for him. When Moiz had fallen off his bicycle and broken his leg, it had been Maaz who had taken him to the hospital. When Moiz had failed any of his tests, it had been Maaz who had helped him with his studies. Then 6 and a half years ago, Maaz had decided to move to England to finish his studies at Oxford University. At first Moiz had been angry at his brother but then he realized that Maaz would have a brighter future in England then in Pakistan. Nonetheless, he had been heart broken at the thought of living so far away from Maaz. Moiz had thought that he would not know what to do without his best friend, his brother Maaz.

But Moiz had recovered and learnt to live life without his brother's aid. He had graduated from law school without his brother's help. He had gotten a job at a law firm without his brother's help, he had even managed to find himself a nice, decent fiancee without his brother's help. He thought he had done very well for someone who had always lived under his brother's shadow. Yes, his brother had helped him out when he needed it the most but Moiz knew, that it was also true that his brother, Maaz had overshadowed him. When Moiz had recieved his first honour's certificate from school, no one had noticed because at that time Maaz had just graduated from school with the highest marks in the province. When Moiz had graduated from school no one had paid any attention because Maaz had just been accepted into Oxford University. Everyone had a hlot of high hopes regarding Maaz and Moiz had learned to live with it at that time but he couldn't help feeling a little happy that his brother decided to move to England.

It was his parents who first had the idea that Moiz should visit his brother in England. At first, he hadn't been sure about it. He had a perfectly good job but a lawyer's time is precious and he didn't want to miss out on any clients. There was also his fiancee, Nayab, he knew that she wouldn't be so happy about Moiz visiting England. He told his parents that he would think about it but he realized soon enough that 6 and a half years  is a lot of time to not have spent with your only sibling. So, he decided he would do it. He would go to England and spend some quality time with his brother and see if Maaz was really just as happy and successful as he tells everyone on the phone. Now all he had to do was tell Nayab...

"Nayab!"
"Nayab!"
Nayab turned when she heard her name and her face lit up at the sight of her fiancee, Moiz.
"Hey, where have you been?" She asked him as soon as he reached her.
"Oh...no where," He replied while giving her a peck on the cheek.
"Listen, there's something I've got to tell you Nayab," he added, "mum dad and I have been talking for a while and they think that I should visit Maaz in England for a couple of months." He looked at her expectantly.
"Oh Moiz! Do you have to?" She looked at him and seeing his expression, lowered her tone, "I mean, it's great that you want to see your brother but we've just gotten engaged and..." She trailed off.
"I know...but it's only for two months...I promise, I'll be back before you know it and I'll buy you lots of presents!" He added.
"Oh allright, I know I can't stop you." She smiled.


He had been thinking it over and he decided it was for the best. He would worry about all of this later, right now he just wanted a nice hot cup of coffee and a football game. He poured himself some coffee and settled down in front of the tv to watch the game. But just as Italy was about to score, the phone rang.
"Damn it," he shouted as he picked up the phone, "Hello?"
"Hello...Maaz?" A woman's voice answered.
"Oh...Mum, how are you?"
"Oh thank God, I thought you had forgotten me," his mom chuckled back.
"No, never, how could I forget you?" He replied back.
"Maaz, I would like Moiz to visit you in England."
"...Mum, I don't know, I have a lot going on right now." He said.
"Oh dear, don't worry, Moiz will be able to help you out, your father has already booked the ticket, he will arrive at Heathrow Airport at 7:30 A.M." Maaz heard his mum say and before he could reply the line was cut.
"Damn it," he shouted again as he sat down on the couch. Moiz can't visit me, he thought as he sipped his coffee, what will he think of me? Oh God, what should I do?

As Moiz boarded the plane, all he could think about was how great it was that he was going to meet his brother after so long. He was really excited to see his brother's huge mansion and his fleet of cars. He knew this because Maaz had told him so over the phone. He remembered his brother telling him about his house. It was surrounded by walls, a wrought iron gate opened up to a long, cobbled driveway which then gave way to a wooden door with a gold, brass knocker. It had nine rooms, his brother had told him and Moiz couldn't wait to see the grand house. Maaz had also told him of his job, he worked as a financial advisor for England's biggest company, Finance Brooke. Moiz was really happy for his brother and he couldn't wait to meet him.

He wound his cart through the throng of people, looking for Maaz but without luck. After a good hour of searching for his brother, he decided he would call him. He got up, walked over to the payphone and dialed. But instead of his brother, the voice machine answered. Moiz left a message for Maaz and hung up. What should I do now? He thought as he sat down. Where are you, Maaz?

Maaz was at home, making himself scrambled eggs. He knew perfectly well that his brother's flight had probably landed and that Moiz was most likely waiting for him at the airport. Yet, he had no intention of going to the airport. He had not moved, the better word would be ran, away from Pakistan, from his parents, just to have his brother visit him and see his state. Maaz knew that he was not happy or even satisfied with his life but there was no way that he would go back to Pakistan or let anyone from his family visit him in England. As he sat down to enjoy his scrambled eggs, he had one last thought about his brother, there is no way that Moiz will be able to find me, no way. But that was about to change soon enough.

Oh God! Where is he? Moiz thought as he drove his cart to the nearest taxi. If I ever find him, I will kill him.
"Hey, can I get a ride?" He asked the driver.
"Yea' sure, where you going?" The driver asked him as he sat down and tucked his suitcase under the seat.
I thought for a while about what I should tell him, I didn't have my brother's address and he wasn't recieving any calls.
"...Can you take me to the head office of Finance Brooke?"
"Sure," and that was the last word the driver spoke to me.
As the taxi wound through the streets of London, Moiz wondered where his brother had gotten to? Why hadn't he come to pick him up? He knew for sure that mum had spoken to Maaz about his flight, so why hadn't he come to recieve him?
35 minutes later, the taxi stopped in front of a tall building with a sign that read, "Finance Brooke" in plain bold letters. Moiz handed the driver a twenty pound note, in his haste, he forgot to take his change.
As he stepped through the revolving glass doors, he couldn't help but feel intimidated. Everywhere he looked, there were people dressed in expensive looking clothes and he felt quite under dressed. He looked around and found the front desk. There was a very sour looking middle aged woman sitting behind the desk, she seemed busy writing something.
"Er..excuse me ma'am?"
"Yes, how can I help you?" She looked up.
"I need the address of one of your employees," I said, "I'm his brother."
"Well sir, I'll need some sort of identification of that because you must understand that we can't give out any personal information of our employees, what is the name of your brother?"
"Yes, it's Maaz Ahmed," I replied.
She tapped on the keyboard a couple of times and then turned her attention back to me.
"I'm sorry sir but there is no Maaz Ahmed in our database."
"Wha..?" I spluttered.
"Maybe you have the wrong name..?" She said sympathetically.
"He's my brother, how can I have the wrong name?" I said hotly, "Please check again, I'm sure there's been a mistake."
She looked a little cross but turned back to the computer and tapped some more.
"No sir, there is no Maaz Ahmed here, I'm sorry." She said definitely.
Before I could say anything back to her, the phone rang and she picked it up which I knew was a signal for me to go.